Footsteps sounded in the darkness, echoing hollowly against the hard stones of the shrine's courtyard.

She was used to working alone. This was her duty, established for centuries. Eddies and swirls in the stream of time were usual things, though sometimes the river of epochs grew disrupted, flooding and spreading in ways that were not meant. Rivers sometimes cut new paths; that she knew. Though the cause of a shift was something to be investigated. Not all storms in the stream of time were supposed to be. Now, paradoxes hemmed the edges of the future, warpings of unknown magnitude. And so she fulfilled her ancient duty, ensuring the stability of what was to come.

The solitary figure was surprised to find herself wandering into an old shrine. Usually they were places of stability, rocks along the shore of the timestream, steady, ever present, though sometimes they would wear away though the centuries. But ripples pressed against her senses, a tiny warping she had set herself to uncover. Here in the night, she could slip easily from building to building, unseen in the dark. She'd correct the distortion, and then vanish. No need for anyone to know she was even there....

Thin wooden walls ringed the epicenter of the disturbance, and she moved forward to push open the doors to a wellhouse. But it was fortunate she paused a moment before sliding the door open. Voices sounded within, echoing up hollowly, then growing stronger as she slipped back into the shadows.

"Mou...I can't believe you followed me all the way home...."

"Dammit, Kagome, it's more important for you to stay!"

"I've got a geometry test in two days, Inuyasha! And history tomorrow, and I'm behind in biology! I've got entrance exams this year! I have to study!"

"Feh!"

The door to the wellhouse slammed open, shoved aside by an irritated Inuyasha. True enough, Kagome had stayed for better than a week this time. He was glad of that, but still, she was leaving again, off to some weird world of her own. She was pushing her way ahead of him, the oversized yellow rucksack on her back nearly empty. Wheeling around, Kagome fixed Inuyasha with a glare. "It's late! Go home!"

"I don't see why you can't-"

"Osu-"

She watched his face shift suddenly, from anger to caution. It was quick enough to stop her from slamming him into the ground with the usual command. His ears were pricked up, swiveling back and forth a bit as he sniffed the air. "Inuyasha? What's....?"

Something was on the shifting wind. It was clear, clean and bright, though carrying the scent of an ancient shroud of mist. And as the person the scent belonged to remained hidden, he determined it was an enemy.

In one smooth motion, his hand went to the hilt of Tetsusaiga, drawing it as it transformed and as he spun around, aiming straight for a silent shadow in the darkness.

Two weapons clashed with a metallic ring as Inuyasha slammed his weapon down on the silvery staff of their watcher.

"Inuyasha!"

"Kagome! Get back!"

Kagome backed up hurriedly, shedding her rucksack and scrambling out of the way as the figure he was fighting slipped her staff underneath his sword, slamming Inuyasha in the stomach hard enough to send him staggering backward. The motion brought their observer forward, into a knife's edge of yellow light let out from the house. In the slash of light, Kagome saw an unusual figure. A woman in a white uniform, her skirt and collar black, and a long bow of deep crimson pinned to the front and back, long ribbons trailing. She spared no glance for Kagome, but was instead watching Inuyasha as he rushed forward again, this time more warily, slashing upward to be met again with the staff, tipped with an orb of garnet.

The weapons clanged against each other as the woman spun again, striking forward and missing as Inuyasha leapt back out of her way. Back, forth, into and out of the square patches of light on the ground, splashed from the windows of the house. The woman jerked the narrow end of her staff upward quickly, sharply catching Inuyasha in the chin as he moved the more unwieldy Tetsusaiga for another blow. It was enough force to send him back a step, settling in for another run. He watched as she lifted the staff over her head, arches of heart shaped silver curling around the glowing red orb. Mist began to coalesce around her, circling the curved end of the staff.

It was a magical attack, and he knew it. There was barely a moment to prepare himself, using the only option he could think of, without running straight into the blast himself. Around her, garnet colored swirls of aura shimmered, glowing and shifting with all the brightness of a star.

Then he heard a whisper say, "Dead Scream...."

And from inside the swirling crimson clouds, a sphere of lavender light flew outward, straight for him with deadly accuracy. There was barely an instant to leap out of the way, and he nearly stumbled when he landed, caught instead by Kagome, who balanced him and grabbed at his long sleeve as he turned back to the attacker.

"Wait! Inuyasha! Don't!"

"What?" His response was as much to Kagome as it was to the empty air before him. No one stood there, the only evidence of a sparring match being a slash on the ground where Tetsusaiga had cut. He searched for a scent, half conscious of Kagome standing behind him and looking around herself.

"Inuyasha...she's gone."

"Kuso...."

He moved forward, ready to search for the figure again. Hunt her down, find out just who and what she was. And why she was there.

"Inuyasha...."

There was something about the way Kagome said his name, something to make him turn and look at her curiously. Strangely, she didn't appear worried at all. Then again, this was Kagome. She was clutching at the crescent of the Shikon no Tama around her neck, holding it as though for reassurance. "Kagome? What?

"Don't fight her...."

"Don't...what the hell are you talking about?"

Puzzled, Kagome took a step forward, biting her lip as she sifted though memories, trying to uncover a recollection that eluded her. Faces swam into her vision for a moment, fading then emerging again. "She...might have saved my life once."

Inuyasha stared. Kagome was still turning back and forth, searching for the vanished figure in the darkness, though not seeing.

"What the hell are you talking about? When? Who was that?"

She turned and looked at him. Inuyasha was watching the courtyard, and after a moment, Tetsusaiga shrunk, slipping back into its sheath. Evidence enough that whoever that had been, she was long gone. She still paid him no attention, and he moved to her, grabbing her shoulders and looking down into her face, frowning and silently asking her what she meant. After a moment, she turned her grey blue eyes to his golden ones.

"I think it was a Sailor Senshi."

Welcome to the product of my obsession....

lol. Well, I've been writing Sailormoon fics for ages now, and have recently started in the Inuyasha fandom...having written Sailormoon fics for so long, my brain has become somewhat permanently wired for it. Due to the massive does of Inuyasha manga/anime I've been feeding it lately, my fanfic writing wires have gotten a little crossed, and apparently a crossover is my brain's way of coping.

Basically, I've been writing this purely for fun, for myself and my friends. It's become rather large. At the time of posting this small Prelude, I'm about to start work on Chapter 15. Looking around , I've only seen a couple SM/IY crossovers, so I'm not really sure if anyone is interested in reading a cross between the two. So, I'm using this Prelude as a tester.

If I get at least 5 reviews, requesting me to continue posting, I'll add some more here soon. ^_^ If not, then this'll probably come down in a week or so, and become something I'm doing just for the heck of it. Kukuku, you have to love people from the past in the modern age...::evil laughter:: Especially when you have Sailor Venus running around and trying to hook the Inuyasha-tachi up. Btw, pairings will be traditional. I like them how they are. That means Inuyasha/Kagome, Sango/Miroku, and from Sailormoon- Usagi will be with Mamoru... I've had a lot of fun so far, and I plan on finishing the fic reviews or not. ^.~ All major characters from each series will be included, though it does take a bit for Sango, Miroku and Shippou to get on the scene, just warning you...but they do come!!!